FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 22 May 2020
Contact:
Dorjee Tseten | +1-646-753-3889 | dorjee@studentsforafreetibet.org
Pema Doma | +1-617-792-3606 | pemadoma@studentsforafreetibet.org
MORE THAN 30,000 PEOPLE TUNED IN LIVE TO MARK THE START OF CCP’S 3RD SESSION OF 13TH PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS
On Thursday May 21st, 9:30pm EST, activists from Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) performed a projection action in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York to express a message of solidarity and resistance.
In response to the Chinese Community Party’s (CCP) 3rd annual session of the 13th National People’s Congress, SFT decided to spread awareness about the CCP’s far reaching repression and crackdown on human rights and free speech. The coronavirus pandemic has made it clear that in an era of globalization, China’s brutal governance endangers not only oppressed groups living under their regime, but everyone in the global community.
The core message SFT wanted to send to the world through the projection action was that it is time for a change from the status quo! The slogans projected on the Chinese Consulate in New York are enough to earn a life sentence as a political prisoner inside China’s border. So SFT was honored to share messages of solidarity and resistance from groups that are most vulnerable to the CCP regime. The action included slogans, in English, Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Uyghur, reading: “CCP: your time is up,” “Tibet will be free,” “Democracy in China,” “Free East Turkestan,” “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time,” “Taiwan Independence,” “Free Southern Mongolia,” and “The CCP is Responsible for the Coronavirus Pandemic.”
As SFT activists projected these messages, there was a simultaneous livestream on Facebook. More than 30,000 viewers from around the world tuned in to witness the action. SFT Executive Director Dorjee Tseten said from the protest site: “As the world battles to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not forget that the severity and scope of Covid-19 is a direct result of the CCP’s corruption, suppression of free speech, and authoritarian governance. We are here with a united message from people across the movement against Chinese Communist regime. China is a global threat; it is a threat to democracy all over the world. The international community must now come together to stand against Chinese repression and support the peoples’ resistance.”
Although typical protesting is unfeasible due to social-distancing protocols, this projection action is an example of how activists are demanding change in China and its occupied territories, and will continue countering Chinese influence abroad.
You can watch the shorter version of the action here:
or the full action here: